"Hrrrrmmmmm..."

Flynn couldn't help but utter that groan out of his lips. He was extremely tired, and he just couldn't get a good night's sleep. In all honesty, he didn't get one the night before either, when the group stayed in Halure's inn. But besides that, he just tossed and turned. Thankfully, he was graced with a few hours here and there, but when it came to it, he just wasn't looking forward to getting his armor on. Oh, give the great commandant a break; there's been times where great heroes want to be able to call in a sick day and sleep in. And at this point of his life, he wanted to.

He saw the sky slowly getting brighter; he knew that soon he'd have to get up, but for now, turning over and closing his eyes felt good. But unknown to him, his sad disposition and sad vibe was seen by at least two people in the room.

Estelle was slightly awake in her bed as she was the bed next to Flynn's. She watched his frowning face turn over and try to rest more as he sighed. She slowly worried; although Yuri's talk of how he tried his best and even their talk of trying to cheer up helped, it seemed Flynn was really struggling with his brigade's tragic end.

Akihiro had gotten all the sleep he needed and had fully dressed himself. He had made his bed and quietly started to make his way out the door when he noticed the attitude of the commandant. He looked down a bit and closed his eyes. But instead of worrying about it like Estelle, he shrugged it off and headed outside.

Taking a great big yawn, he stretched his arms over his head and clamped his eyes shut at the sudden sunlight that shone brightly in his face. He grunted as it tipped off Yuri of his presence. The man walked over and was able to catch the teen's attention.

"Well, it seems you're up and about before the gang," Yuri said, smiling.

Closing his eyes and grinning while he rubbed the back of his head, Akihiro nodded as he replied, "Yeah, I always like to get up early so that way I can do more stuff in a day. So, when are we gonna head to the other harbor?"

"When everyone wakes up. Is the others still asleep?" Yuri asked, placing a hand on his hip.

"Yeah, but Flynn looked unrested. And real sad," the teen noted, looking down.

"Flynn must be taking getting uneasy about his men's death again," Yuri said, looking away for a split second to think to himself.

Seeing he was lost in thought, Akihiro yawned and smiled, "Aw, well, I'm sure he's okay. Well, I'm gonna head over to the market a buy some breakfast. Be right back, Yuri!"

As he tried to run over towards the market, a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked back to see a very darkish-serious look from Yuri, as the man gave him a good smirk. His eyes made the teenager cringe as he realized what this was.

"Hold it. Before you go anywhere, you and I are having that talk right now. Might as well get it over with, right?" Yuri said, smiling.

"Aww, darn it; I wish you had forgotten," Akihiro slumped over and let his head lower as the man spun him around to face him.

"I'll do my best to make it quick and painless," Yuri said, as he got serious and let go, "So, I'm sure you know as to why I'm addressing you about this, right?"

"It's because of my over-the-top fighting yesterday, right?" the teen groaned, like a child who's tired of being lectured by a parental unit.

Yuri nodded and replied, "I understand now that you're not sore about me winning our spar, but you're upset with yourself. I can understand if you're frustrated about not being strong enough, but you need to realize that accomplishing a dream and getting stronger doesn't happen in a matter of days–"

"I know that!" Akihiro tried to interrupt to clarify.

"But, that's just it; I don't think you REALLY do," Yuri explained, and kept calm despite the boy stopping him from talking, "Akio- I mean, Akihiro, if you get so mad after one spar loss that you just go running into fights while you're injured in order to get stronger, then you may not really know that concept well."

Happy that he for once corrected himself in saying his name right, Akihiro folded his arms and listened to Yuri continue, "Sometimes, the best thing to do in order to get stronger is resting. You won't get stronger if you continue to wear your tired and wounded body down. So, you got to practice patience, okay?"

"Well, how do you do it, Yuri? You sound like you're speaking from experience," the teen said.

"I am. Akihiro, I've been friends with Flynn since we were kids, and I lost to him all the time, whether it'd be racing, or fighting with swords, or whatever," Yuri explained, lightening the mood on his face.

Akihiro blinked in awe as his jaw dropped, "Wha- Seriously!? No offense to the commandant, but I would've been sure you're better; I mean, I've watched you and Flynn fight monsters for only a short while, and you're much better than him from what I've seen!"

"Well, looks aren't everything. I mean, how do you think Flynn got to be the commandant of the knights? I've only managed to beat him once and that was a few months ago in Aurnion. So trust me when I say this; I know what it's like to get frustrated when you lose and feel you're not good enough," Yuri sighed, retelling his past losses but smiled as he continued on from that, "but that's a part of growing up and getting stronger. Don't let losses give you the mistake that you're weak, but learn when to train and when to relax, okay?"

"Ahhh, okay! Thanks, Yuri! I'll try my best to practice what you've told me!" Akihiro brimmed with his cheerful self again.

"Good, now go get yourself some food. I'd rather not be the cause of you whining about being hungry," Yuri smiled and waved him off.

With that, Akihiro ran off to get some breakfast. Leaving Yuri to get some peace to himself, the man looked back into the inn and pondered to himself. He closed his eyes and pondered something that the teen had told him.

"Flynn... are you really taking it that hard?" he couldn't help be say to himself.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As morning grew into late morning, it was only a matter of time before everyone was up and ready to leave. A quick snack was all the group needed to have a good breakfast and all were ready. All of them huddled in a group as Flynn cleared his throat.

"Okay, everyone, listen up; we're gonna be heading off onto the Fierta in fifteen minutes; so all of you need to be ready and at the port by then," the commandant instructed.

With the majority of nods, Yuri caught his attention, "Oh, if I can, I promised someone that they could sail with us, if that's not an issue."

"Wait, seriously?" Flynn blinked, a bit caught off guard.

"This is an important travel, not a vacation cruise; we can't just allow random people to join us on our ship," Rita lectured as she folded her arms.

"Rita's right, Yuri; we can't let innocent people get mixed up with our problems," Estelle agreed.

"But he's somebody we know; I'll prove it," Yuri said, as he then made a signal with his hand.

It was then Clay came over, walking into view. Immediately, everyone except Flynn and the newcomers recognized who it was. And all of them knew then what Yuri's quick and constant glances at them meant; keep their mouths shut about what this man did and why he's out of prison. The dark enforcer walked over and nodded to them like a polite bow.

"Hello, my name is Clay; I hope many of you remember me," he said melancholy yet nicely.

"Yes, how could we forget?" Estelle said, smiling to him.

After a tiny series of introductions...

"Hm? Yuri, how do you know Clay?" Flynn asked, carefully looking the man over.

Not telling him a lie, yet keeping certain details away, his friend explained, "We met him several times on our journey. The guy is a strong fighter who helps anyone in need. He needed to get over to Tolbyccia, so I said he could come with us."

"Ol' Raven's got no problem helpin' a friend," the old man said with his classic smile.

"Me neither; I'd love for him to come along and for us to help him," Estelle said, changing sides rather quickly.

Being defeated, the mage gave up and nodded, "Fine, I guess he can come."

Clay nodded with closed eyes, "Thank you; I promise I'll try not to be such a burden on you."

"Okay, everyone, you heard the commandant," Yuri reminded, "Be at the port in fifteen. Got it?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was two minutes after that little huddle that Tai decided to just stock up on some items. Grabbing a few gels and status potions ought to do it, he thought. He couldn't be too careful, especially traveling to a continent he didn't know before.

So much happened in so little time. Meeting new people, seeing new places; it was a bit... startling at first, but Tai was really digging it. Despite Rita being... Rita, and constant pokes about his glove, it was okay being outside of Halure. He kept wondering what the new continent would be like.

"I've never been on a boat before... I hope nothing screws up," he thought.

Suddenly, it hit him. His eyes widened; no, not now. It can't be happening now. He looked at his left arm instantly; the glove was shaking. It was glowing without his control. Not now...

"Shit!" he muttered as he grabbed the items he paid for, frantically shoved them in his pocket, and rushed away.

He ran past tons of people, trying to find a place where no one could see him; could see that...

"Damn it; of all the places he wants to come and bug the hell out of me, he has to do it in a crowded city?" he thought angrily as he located an alley.

It was dark and nobody was nearby it. He stopped running, and tried his best to look casual as he walked into it. His arm began throbbing as he grunted and held it with his other hand. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus and keep whatever he didn't want coming out in, yet it wasn't enough this time. It was like time froze; though it didn't, he felt so slow as his glove stopped. He realized he was out, and he was behind him. It caused Tai to close his eyes in annoyance, in bits of rage, the shadows covering his eyes darkly. He didn't even look back at the giant monster-like being that was hanging from the wall by his right hand and foot.

"Hey, Tai; long time no see," it said in this deep, bold, yet sickly twisted and possessed type voice.

The being jumped down and stood right behind him. As the giant monster stood up tail, Tai's head was at its waist. Its skin was dark green, like Tai's glove, yet he had tiny highlights of blue. He had white marks that spread across his face that were his eyes and a big mouth with tiny, sharp teeth and a long tongue. It had a huge black mark that stretched all around its chest. The man or whatever it was... it was massive. Unbelievably huge. Its legs and arm muscles were gigantic, and its chest and stomach was completely ripped. Its fingers and toes were sharp like claws. It stood behind him, looking down at Tai, who didn't look back.

"What the hell do you want now, Kerberos?" Tai asked, barely holding back his distaste in his voice.

"Heh heh, I'm so glad you're a 'cut-right-to-the-chase' kind of kid," the giant spoke, being called by its name, "I'm a bit angry with you; only using my power twice in only two days, Tai? You've got to be joking."

"Whether or not I use your power is my frigging decision, got it, you asshole?" Tai said in a no-nonsense attitude.

"Sorry, 'pal', but not this time; this power you have that you get to control is unimaginably strong! You could crush anybody with it, yet you're pushing it back as a last resort!?" Kerberos started to get angry and point at the kid, "It's no wonder you got the life pounded out of you with that monster and beaten down by that man; you didn't use what you have. You were weak."

Tai turned around and snapped, "Look, I'm not gonna use my powers because-"

"Because you're afraid of those people you travel with thinking you're an abomination?" Kerberos said cruelly, silencing the teen and making him give a glare at him, "You're scared of what they think, aren't you? Why care what they think? After all, you told that Raven guy yesterday you don't view them as friends, so do what you want, not what they want."

Tai looked down and closed his eyes; he was scared... scared of what they would do and say if they found out about Kerberos. But...

"It doesn't matter whether I'm 'scared' or not," Tai tried to defend.

"Exactly; so, then, stop being a dumb sloth and start using me," the monster said, grinning, "It's not like you can keep this a secret any longer; that prissy princess and poor excuse for an old man found out when you first met them, and now the rest of them do. Besides, that Yuri guy said he wanted to see what you're capable of; if that's the case, show him your full potential. Do it-"

"Yo, Tai, how long are ya gonna make ol' Raven try ta find ya?" both heard a certain old man call out nearby, much to Tai's relief.

"Awww, I guess our little quality time together is over, kid. I best be going back into there,"Kerberos chuckled evilly.

He slowly came closer to Tai, and put his huge hand on his glove. In a matter of seconds, his body started to ooze like slime and be sucked into the glove. He smirked as he watched Tai's glare of resentment direct at him.

"Oh, one more thing before I go for now..." he called to his attention, "It's a warning; keep that mage girl away from your arm. I think it's in the best interest for both of us that she doesn't get her hands on it and try to tamper with it. Until then, Tai..."

Well, that was at least ONE thing Tai could agree with; Rita was becoming a serious pain about it. Sooner or later, he might have to do something about it; something seriously bad. With that, the giant went back into Tai's arm and left the kid in a horrible mood. Man, did that creep know how to get to him. It drove him crazy, attacking him to his core like that. His temper would've spiked, had it not been for Raven turning into the alley and relieving him.

"Hey-o, Tai, my boy!" he said, walking over to him, "Ol' Raven's been lookin' for ya!"

As the teen turning around, his face had lightened up, slightly smiling, "Sorry, Raven. I just had to take care of something private."

"Eh? Ya all right, Tai? Ya look as if yer really troubled and upset," the old man saw through the disguise and asked.

Sighing and feeling bad for lying, Tai said, "Ahh, I just didn't have a good night's sleep. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess..."

"Ah, well, then let me treat you to some food! That oughta cheer ya up!" Raven winked and offered food on him.

"Yeah... I'd love that," the teen nodded.

As the two made their way out of the alley, Tai closed his eyes and hid his disturbed face from Raven. He couldn't stop thinking about what just happened and how angry it made him. Not to mention, he could've sworn he heard Kerberos laughing inside of his head...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Wow, it's been so long since I updated! I hope you like it

If you're wondering about Kerberos, I actually just made him up on the fly, yet he goes well with what I've got planned in the future story. I got the idea of how he looks like from this epic picture of Marvel's Venom. I hope that helps a bit in imagining him! Keep reading!